McLaren Mercedes driver Heikki Kovalainen of Finland reacts after setting the pole position time at the end of qualifying session at Silverstone racetrack, in Silverstone, England, Saturday, July 5, 2008 ahead of Sunday's Formula One Grand Prix. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Luca Bruno
SILVERSTONE, England - Heikki Kovalainen captured his first Formula One pole on Saturday and will now try for his first victory in the series in British Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver crossed the line more than half a second faster than Red Bull's Mark Webber, who also will be seeking his first win in Sunday's race, after the bigger contenders struggled to handle the breezy and wet conditions.
World champion Kimi Raikkonen, last year's British GP winner, was third fastest in his Ferrari ahead of home favourite Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, whose bid to take the pole was hampered when he skidded off the circuit at a left-hand bend.
Felipe Massa, who leads the series standings by two points for Ferrari, laboured to ninth place in the grid despite posting the fastest practice time Friday. His best effort in the third round of qualifying was more than 2 1/4 seconds slower than Kovalainen.
One spot behind him will be Robert Kubica in a BWM Sauber. The Polish driver is second in the drivers standings but failed to post a time in the last of the three rounds of qualifying. He didn't even leave the pits because of mechanical trouble.
Kovalainen was consistent on both days of practice and qualifying, handling wet conditions Saturday when Silverstone was left damp after a heavy shower two hours before the sessions began.
"They were quite difficult qualifying conditions, with dark skies and blustery winds," said Kovalainen, whose best was one minute 21.049 in the final qualifying round. "But in the second part (of qualifying) it was much better without any problems, before a great run in the final part which I'm very happy about.
"Tomorrow is still a long race and anything can happen, but the balance in high and low speeds is as good as it's been all season."
Webber, who has never finished higher than third in 111 starts, tied his best previous qualifying performance at Monaco two years ago after a time of 1:21.554.
"We were a bit quick, but we didn't know that we would be on the front row," the Australian said. "We changed the car a little overnight and it was much better this morning. ... The result for us has been very impressive. The guys have done a really good job."
Bidding to become the first driver since David Coulthard eight years ago to win back-to-back British GPs, Raikkonen was unhappy with the performance of his car on Friday but saw improvements on Saturday.
"Today was better compared to yesterday which was very difficult, but we put in a lot of effort to sort my car out," said the Finn, who turned a lap in 1:21.706. "We're not exactly where we want to be. But I'm pretty happy with the car, and I feel we should get some points."
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Article online since July 5th 2008, 0:00
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